"Perhaps
you think she could be competition for you?" The silver-blond
retorted.

The
woman blushed. "N-no. That's not what I meant. It's just that
she doesn't seem like the type of person to back down and looks
like she's enjoying this...torture. See? Just like you."

Ritsu
arched an eyebrow. She had a point, they were similar, but not the
same. Soubi could handle her.

He
was his student, after all.

----

There
was a short list of people in the world whom Soubi would love to have
the pleasure of killing if he was ever able to do so. The people on
that list were: Ritsu-sensei, Ritsuka's mother and this woman,
Watanabe.

He
briefly wished that his sacrifice wasn't so innocent and good. That
way, he could order him to do so. But Ritsuka was far too
compassionate for that...even toward worthless people like her.

Watanabe
looked at him and he thought that she could hear his thoughts, for
she looked away surprisedly when their eyes met.

The
dark haired woman cleared her throat.

"No
further questions, your honor."

Soubi
stepped down, his icy glare unseen by anyone but the female lawyer.

----

"I
call Aoyagi Ritsuka to the stand." Watanabe stated.

The
boy took a deep breath to steady himself. He tried to have confidence
in himself.

I'll
fix everything...

"Aoyagi-kun,
please tell us about the first time you met Agatsuma-san." She was
taking a different approach this time.

"It
was after school on the first day. He was waiting for me outside the
gates."

"So,
he just showed up?"

Ritsuka
nodded and continued. "He said that he was my brother, Seimei's
friend, so I wanted to get to know him. I asked if he wanted to make
memories with me."

"And
what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Pictures.
I take pictures so that I won't forget things, they're my
memories. Some of those pictures that the police took out of my room
are from that day."

"Did
you see him again soon after that?"

"Yes,
he came to my house and school, except when I told him not to."

"And
in that time, did he ever do anything to you?"

Ritsuka
sat up in the chair. "I know what you think about Soubi and I've
heard all of the lies that you've attempted to make everyone here
believe. But I know the truth. He never did any of the things
that you've been accusing him of doing."

For
once in his life, Ritsuka knew that he just had to speak out...for
Soubi. It was finally his turn to protect his fighter.

"Perhaps
he has simply led you to believe that he hasn't done anything to
you-"

"No.
Soubi would never do anything like that, he would never hurt me."
The boy replied.

"Well
you acquired those injuries somehow. Who inflicted them?"

Ritsuka
didn't know what to say. Soubi had never hurt him, but his mother
was misunderstood, confused. He didn't want to say anything.

"Someone
hurt you, who was it?" She persisted.

The
judge looked down at the dark haired boy. "Please answer the
question." He stated kindly.

Ritsuka
opened his mouth, then closed it again.

I'm
sorry mother...

"My
mom." He whispered, though he hadn't meant to.

"I'm
sorry Aoyagi-kun, I didn't catch that."

Tears
came to his eyes. "My mom." He stated, louder this time.

Misaki
glared, standing slowly. "How could you say that? How could you say
that?!You're not my son!" She shouted.

Ritsuka
closed his eyes and looked away, biting his bottom lip.

His
mother continued to shout and the judge sent a guard to take her out
of the courtroom.

Watanabe
didn't know what to do, this case was going down the drain. "I
have no further questions."

Ukai
stood and walked up to the witness' stand. "Aoyagi-kun I know
this is hard, do you think you're up to answering some more
questions?"

The
dark-haired boy nodded, taking a deep, shallow breath.

He
had to do this for Soubi.

----

Soubi
was surprised.

Ritsuka
had incriminated his mother, something that he never thought the boy
would do.

He
could see the determination in his sacrifice's eyes when he opened
them again and knew that there was no way he could lose. This was
just another battle in which the weapons were words.

He
had the utmost trust in Ritsuka.

----

"Aoyagi-kun,
you said that everything that Agatsuma-san has been accused of has
been lies. Would you mind explaining that?" The man questioned
softly.

"Yes,
but like he said, it was innocent. All of them were." It felt odd
for him to say that, he didn't fully believe it himself. He wasn't
lying though.

"And
you've been to his apartment?"

"Yes."

"And
he comes to your house?"

Ritsuka
nodded and smiled a bit. "He usually comes when it's raining. I
tell him not to, that he'll get sick without an umbrella, but he
says that he needs to see me. He wants to make sure that I'm
alright, but I had no idea that he knew about my mom...He really has
been protecting me for months now. " Tears filled his eyes once
more, this time spilling down his cheeks.

He
turned to the jury. "Please don't put Soubi in jail. I need
him..." Ritsuka held back a sob.

I
love him...

----

Soubi
watched his young sacrifice and felt a tug at his heartstrings.
Something- there was something good happening, something important...

"Ritsuka,
I love you..." He whispered so quietly that he scarcely heard
himself.

Ritsuka
looked at him, violet orbs shimmering with clear tears. Though he was
crying, the man saw a hint of joy in those eyes.

----

Ukai
felt for the boy, he didn't think that he could continue.

"No
further questions." He stated.

Ritsuka
slowly stepped down from the stand, walking back to his seat.

----

Judge
Nanto stood. "The jury will now deliberate. There will be a short
recess."

------

The
recess wasn't as short as some had thought it would be. Ritsuka
didn't care, he would wait days if that was what it took.

During
the recess, many people, friends and strangers alike came up to him.
Some gave their praise, saying that he did very well in such a
situation, some said they hoped it turned out well, and one
particularly odd woman said that he was going to go to hell for being
homosexual and loving an older man...

Yuiko
came up to him, crying. "Ritsuka-kun, Yuiko had no idea everything
was so terrible for you. I hope that Soubi-san wins."

"So
do I Yuiko." Ritsuka agreed, his own tears had stopped. He reached
out and dried hers with his thumb. "Please stop crying Yuiko. I
need you to be your usual, optimistic self right now."

The
girl nodded. "Okay, if it's for Ritsuka-kun I'll try." She
stated, going back to her seat.

The
Zero boys came over with Kio and Natsuo hugged him. "That was
great. If that jury convicts Soubi now, they're nuts." The
burgundy-haired boy stated.

Kio
grinned. "Yeah, I'll just have to make them change their minds if
they do that." He stated, winking at Ritsuka.

The
boy smiled. He really did have friends now...and Soubi was his
closest one. There was no way that he could lose. Soubi was the
strongest fighter out there...

End
Flashback

Soubi
took a deep breath and looked across the room at Ritsuka. Their eyes
locked and hope shone in them, hope that the odds were in their
favor.

Silence
descended upon the packed courtroom when the judge banged his gavel
and everyone looked up at him. He was a rather large man and, despite
his gruff looks, he seemed rather compassionate.

Clearing
his throat, he turned to the jury. "Have you reached a verdict?"
He asked.